Rep. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere)
Having sexual contact with an animal in Wisconsin would be a felony, under legislation being proposed by a Republican state lawmaker.
The bill from state Representative Andre Jacque (R-De Pere) comes in response to criminal cases involving a man charged multiple times with sexually assaulting horses since the 1980s.
Sterling Rachwal is currently facing charges for incidents earlier this year in Brown and Manitowoc Counties. He also previously served nearly 18 years in a mental institution for an animal assault, while there have been other cases where he only faced misdemeanor charges.
“It really is just shocking, appalling, and disgusting, what has gone on,” Jacque says.
Jacque has talked with law enforcement, livestock owners, and others, who have told him there are other similar offenders out there. “You’ll hear from people that basically have slept in the barns with a shotgun, when they know someone like Mr. Rachwal is on the loose,” he says.
If signed into law, Jacque’s bill would make Wisconsin the 24th state to make sexual contact with an animal a felony.